


Checkmate

by Akira14



Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Gen, M/M, not that anyone cares, this might turn into a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 07:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8196874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira14/pseuds/Akira14
Summary: It’s been years since Rin let someone get under skin this much, and the guy isn’t even a swimmer.It would be too easy to chalk it up as jealousy, to say that he cannot stand Oikawa because he seems to be all Sousuke can talk about. Too easy and very far from the truth, indeed.He knows all too well why his boyfriend is so concerned with this particular patient, how much of himself he can see reflected in someone who is putting his dream before his health.He is aware that, no matter how illogical it would be to jump to such a conclusion, Sousuke would blame himself if Oikawa fucks up his knee for good. (AKA: A scene where Rin confronts Oikawa cause I kept obsessing over it)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, coming up with a title has taken me half an hour, and it relates more to Oikawa being the “Grand King” than anything else… It makes more sense if you read this ficlet I wrote for Sousuke’s birthday: [**READ HERE**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8038033/chapters/18409714)  
>  It’s not a SouRin fic per se, Sousuke is Rin's boyfriend in this story and they are in a very committed and faithful relationship so I’ll tag it :P

It’s been years since Rin let someone get under skin this much, and the guy isn’t even a swimmer.  
It would be too easy to chalk it up as jealousy, to say that he cannot stand Oikawa because he seems to be all Sousuke can talk about.  
Too easy and very far from the truth, indeed.  
He knows all too well why his boyfriend is so concerned with this particular patient, how much of himself he can see reflected in someone who is putting his dream before his health.  
He is aware that, no matter how illogical it would be to jump to such a conclusion, Sousuke would blame himself if Oikawa fucks up his knee for good. 

_‘I should have more authoritative, I should have gone and talked to his coach even if he forbid me to. I should… You know I chose this job to avoid these like this from happening, Rin.’_

Damn, even just thinking about it makes him more pissed off than he already is. He can’t wait to face that stubborn, self-destructive setter and give him a piece of his mind, Matsuoka-style.

One would think that he hates the bloke, but he doesn’t. He has a sort of reverence for those who refuse to give up until they have to be taken out the court on a stretcher, really.  
When he had realized that even his very best wasn’t good enough, that no amount of training could make up for a talent he didn’t seem to have compared to those damn Aussies… he just gave up. Oikawa hasn’t.  
His pride has never let him, no matter how many times he has been defeated.  
Pushing himself past the breaking point, however, is not a viable option.

Focusing too much on the goal and losing the love he has for the discipline itself… That shouldn’t happen either. He should treasure the feel of the ball on his fingers, the adrenaline running through his veins until the match is finished. He should make damn sure he doesn’t have to give up any of that all too soon.

Rin would be lying if he said that he doesn’t desperately want to win, whenever he dives into the swimming pool. That it doesn’t suck, making him wonder if maybe all the others work themselves to death, when he doesn’t even qualify for the finals. He but he never lets that feeling, that bitter disappointment, overcome his better judgment when it comes to preparing for the next competition.  
His main goal doesn’t change: he wants to be able to compete at the international level for as long as his body allows him to. Winning comes as a result of the training regimen he follows, something that is not written in stone, that he can discuss and improve trusting that both the coach and Sousuke know the fine line between honing his skills and destroying his career.  
Unlike the man that is now coming out of his boyfriend’s office, he doesn’t think he knows better than anyone.

Oikawa is working with the best physical therapist in the country and doesn’t even seem to appreciate it.  
He disregards the advice that he’s given and sometimes he doesn’t even bother to show up and has not the decency to even call to cancel. Iwaizumi-san does, usually, and promises that the next time he will make sure that idiot will be there. Even if he has to physically drag him to the office, and that’s exactly what happens.  
Oikawa must have studied sports medicine in his sleep, obviously.

“Waiting for Sou-kun?” He smiles at him, but Rin knows the true meaning carried by such a seemingly harmless question. _‘You don’t trust him not to fall for my charm, am I right? He wouldn’t be the first.’_  
“No, I was waiting for you.” Rin smiles back, seizing his wrist and dragging him to the nearest alley. He’s not surprised to find little resistance: Sousuke likes to remind him quite frequently that Oikawa is dead sure that Matsuoka Rin is an alien, with those pointy teeth and red eyes… Which makes Yamazaki-san really cool, for dating an alien and not fearing to be abducted or experimented on. Not that he would either, of course.  
He’d love to have proof humans are not alone in the universe.

“Uhhh, I’m flattered you want to take a specimen like me to your planet, but I’m afraid I can’t join you on such a short notice. So many people to say goodbye to, so many people who would miss me so dearly if I were gone… And besides, if I can be brutally honest, I don’t find those shark teeth of yours very appealing, Matsuoka-san. I’d really like to keep the ones I have.” Normally he would fight the guy on his crazy assumptions, but today he refuses to be manipulated into forgetting why he wanted to talk with Oikawa in the first place.

“Let’s skip the bullshit, should we? There’s one thing I want from you, Oikawa, and that’s not taking your sorry ass to outer space. It’s for you to start acting like a pro athlete if you wish so desperately to be one.  
I want you to stop being so obsessed on obliterating the competition instead of being inspired by their skills and passion.”

“Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re here to give me the ‘You should all be friends! Playing with friends is the most wonderful thing’ talk, Matsuoka. Quit it with your romantic shit, please. I really like my shoes and I’d rather not puke on them.” He frees himself from Rin’s hold, but he isn’t one to walk away from a challenge.

He shoves him lightly, trying to make him lose his cool. He fails.  
He walks towards him, slowly, until Rin can feel rough bricks dig into his shoulder blades.  
It’s funny how he tries to act all tough, how he believes that Rin finds his height intimidating. If anything, Rin finds his attempts to crowd him a little arousing. Curse Oikawa and his stupidly handsome face, those long strong legs and…. No, not the time to appreciate beauty. Not the time to sound like Rei, nope.

“You’ve got quite the attitude for someone who has never foot outside of Japan, Oikawa. I’m sorry to inform that you’ll keep on meeting geniuses out there, and you can’t beat them alone. I’m sure that’s not the first time you hear these words and it won’t be the last because you’re one stubborn idiot.  
I’m not talking just about trusting your teammates because you wouldn’t be have been captain even for a day if you didn’t… I’m talking about trusting a team of professionals with your health and your training.”

“Ah-ha! That’s what it comes to, doesn’t it? Me realizing that your beloved Sou-kun is projecting his failures onto me… As if I-“ He can’t stand to listen to this man-child dissing his boyfriend, especially when no one is forcing him to keep coming to Sousuke or asking for him when he needs a consult.  
He clearly trusts him more than he lets on, but that’s still not enough.

“Stop right there, alright?” He punctuates each word with a hard shove until their position are reversed and Oikawa is the one who can’t go back any further. Then he grabs his collar to spit the next words right into his stupid face “Yes, this is about you not trusting someone who helped me be the fastest butterfly swimmer at the last Asian Swimming Championships and who will definitely get me on the podium at the next Olympics.”

“Why do you even care, Matsuoka-san? I was under the impression that you already had Sou-kun wrapped around your little finger, but maybe I’m wrong… Or it might be me that you’re trying to impress, mh? Damn… are you really that desperate to get into my pants?” His voice drips with venomous disdain, and Rin has to resort to every ounce of his willpower not to lash out at him.

_‘Breathe, Rin. Don’t let him win. He’s a master at pushing the right buttons.’_

“Sorry, I really can’t hear you over the fact that **I** get to wear this.” Rin sneers, showing off his Olympic uniform. “Too bad you never will, if you don’t sort out your fucked up priorities. Maybe you’d like to take a picture, it would last longer.”

“Oi, let him go!” There’s a hand on his shoulder, and a very concerned friend – or something more than that, despite all Oikawa’s shameless flirting? Well, that’s not really his business – ready to knock him unconscious, if required.

“Okay, okay…” He mumbles and hopes Iwaizumi won’t mind giving him a couple of seconds before doing as he’s told.  
He’s got one last thing to say to this asshole, before walking away.

“I care because I see potential, and I’d hate for it to go to waste. Because I see a dream that deserves to be fulfilled, but maybe it’s me who’s wrong here.”

Now he can go, living a puzzled Iwaizumi and a livid Oikawa in his wake.


End file.
